Aldean, Bryan, Stapleton to perform at ACMs

Wednesday, March 9, 2016 – Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett and Chris Stapleton were added to the lineup of artists scheduled to perform at the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards, it was announced today.

The ceremony, co-hosted by Bryan and Dierks Bentley, will be broadcast live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Sunday, April 3 at 8 p.m. live eastern/delayed Pacfic on CBS.

McGraw will perform the national television debut of his new single, "Humble And Kind," from his latest album, "Damn Country Music."

Stapleton leads the ACM nominations with seven nods, including Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. Thomas Rhett earned three including Album of the Year, and Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan each received two nominations, including nods for ACM Entertainer of the Year.

CD reviews

If you liked Jason Aldean's three previous number one albums, you'll like "Rearview Town." He sticks to the winning formula that has brought him past success. The 15 tracks are mainly juiced up, muscular numbers with scorching guitar. Ironically, amid the torrid tempos and high volume that dominate the collection, the ballads are the standouts, especially with the duet with the Miranda Lambert on "Drowns The Whiskey." Instead of whiskey drowning a memory, the inverse »»»

Luke Bryan aims to please often, and that rarely goes unpunished. The Georgia native has a strong voice, some songwriting skill and even legitimate farming cred. But Bryan still gets pegged as the face of corporate country - that pandering beast packaging artists for mass consumption. The label can be unfair, but not wholly undeserved - Bryan has a long track record, for instance, of records about chasing girls and Bud Lights. In truth, he married his college sweetheart and they share a quiet, »»»

Thomas Rhett references mangoritas, Coldplay and verified Instagram accounts on his third album, and for some, that may be a deal-breaker. His ultra-contemporary style and pop culture smarts may be anathema for fans of traditional country. However, writing Rhett off by stamping a cowboy boot and hollering "That ain't country!" writes off some truly standout songs - created by combining the best elements of country and pop music. Take the sophisticated songwriting of country and the »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: Pistol Annies hit the targets –
Pistol Annies, the all-star trio comprised of Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, made the last stop of its short tour a downtown Los Angeles date. This was the last show, that is, until after the pregnant Presley gives birth to her child. Traveling in support of the act's third album "Interstate Gospel," these talented... »»»

Concert Review: Williams brings the joy back –
It's not as if Lucinda Williams has been idle. Far from it this year, but 20 years on, Williams decided to trot out her masterpiece "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" as the centerpiece of her tour. Music and artist have held up exceedingly well.
Williams had always been a well thought of performer, although she was not too big when it came... »»»

Suffice it to say that the past has always loomed large throughout Chip Taylor's career. That's all the more obvious if only for the fact that Taylor wrote some of the biggest pop hits of the '60s, "Wild Thing"... »»»

Dan Tyminski (known simply as "Tyminski" on his 2017 release "Southern Gothic") has traditional music roots and unassailable bluegrass street cred especially given his membership in Alison Krauss' Union Station. He is also a powerful songwriter and has been writing songs for himself and others for years now.... »»»

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn have powerhouse individual talents; each has followed an estimable career path to where they find themselves today: making complex, but spare, records, writing music together and touring with their son Juno. Their new release, "Echoes In The Valley" features mostly songs written by Fleck and Washburn, banjos, Washburn's strong vocals and very little else.... »»»

Rodney Crowell's "Christmas Everywhere" is a (mostly) melancholy collection of songs, with Christmas time as its setting. It's a strong set of carefully worded tunes, set to widely varying musical backings. »»»

Songwriters Vanessa Olivarez and Elizabeth Elkins form the duo Granville Automatic, the name borrowed from a 19th Century typewriter. And, as you might guess, leaning on a name like that, they love to write about history. »»»

Blackberry Smoke's "The Southern Ground Sessions" EP is five versions of songs from the band's recent "Find a Light" album, along with a cover of Tom Petty's "You Got Lucky," which also features vocalist/violinist Amanda Shires. »»»

Jason Isbell didn't record this live effort at The Ryman Auditorium as a gesture to be country music's savior at The Mother Church of Country Music. The Alabama native's music is country-adjacent at best, more than it is traditional »»»

Edward David Anderson is releasing his third solo album, having done five with Backyard Tire and three with Brother Jed. His solo efforts have been widely lauded, and this collection of tunes recorded in Muscle Shoals should bring plaudits too. »»»